On days when my eyes start drooping by 10am and dark clouds keep us indoors, I pile everyone in the minivan and we get out of the house. I usually don’t know where we’re headed until we get there. Some days, we make an impromptu trip to Aldi, and other times, we stop by FreshGround to pick up coffee and visit my brother.

And other days, we don’t even get out of the car. We head to the Panera drive-thru. I pick up a muffin for the kids and a sandwich or drink for myself, and we sit in the car for a few minutes of precious peace and quiet. I get to listen to a podcast (The Next Right Thing is my latest obsession), and the kids get a treat. Glamorous, right? But you do what you gotta do.

Blueberry muffins from Panera have saved my sanity over the last few months, but our drive-thru routine will lose its luster if I resort to it too often. I need to save that getaway plan for when we really need it - like when the twins had croup last week and we were holed up at home for way too long.

Plus, I really don’t want to be paying $3 for a muffin when I could make them for a fraction of the cost myself (although I guess I consider it paying for my sanity, which is more than worth it). But when I can, I try to do things the homemade route – and these Cinnamon + Sweet Potato Muffins are perfect for when we don’t need to utilize our Panera escape plan.

They’re made with pureed sweet potatoes, oats, and whole-wheat flour - healthy enough that I feel good about giving them to my kids, but tasty enough to be toddler-approved.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray, or use liners. Set the prepared pan aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and brown sugar. On medium speed, cream the butter and sugar together, mixing for about 1-2 minutes. Add in the sweet potato puree, applesauce, and vanilla extract, mixing after each addition.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula, just until combined (don’t overmix!).

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin (I like using an ice cream scoop for this). Top with turbinado sugar if you’d like.

Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes before putting it in the oven. Do not skip this step! (Read why.)

Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake for about 20-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for a few minutes, and then place them on a wire rack to cool completely.

*Note: ”White” whole-wheat flour is still 100% whole wheat – it’s simply one particular type of wheat. It’s milder in flavor and lighter in color than some other whole-wheat flours. You can easily find it at many grocery stores (I most recently purchased a bag at Trader Joe’s).